Arrangements
by Demon Flame
Summary: After Rogue's powers manifest Mystique ships her off to Boston to a telepath who is supposed to help her with her powers. She only has a year before she is then moved to New Orleans as a bargining chip but her mother isn't done using her yet.
1. Chapter 1

Rogue dropped her duffel bag next to her suitcases by the front door of the apartment. Her apartment. It had come furnished when her mother, Mystique, bought the lease to it. It wasn't a big place, just big enough for her. The only upside to leaving Irene in Mississippi was that she could finally be alone and not have to worry about hurting someone else. Well at least until she stepped out of her front door.

Not even a day ago her mutant powers had flared up and a local boy had been the first one to suffer at her hands. As far as mutants went she had a pretty fantastic power. With just a simple touch she could absorb the very life force of anyone she touched, taking their memories, physical abilities and if they had powers, she'd take those too. But as far as seventeen year old girls went, she was a pariah.

Really she shouldn't be complaining. Unlike the majority of mutants, she had known she would become a mutant. She had even known what her powers would be and about what time they would manifest. Hell, she had even received training to help prepare her for being a mutant. So why was she so bitter now? Because her mutation was out of her control and would never be in her control. She would never touch someone again without taking a piece of them with her.

That wasn't the only drawback to this oh-so-wonderful-one of-a-kind-mutation, no she also had the pleasure of listening to the psyches of the people she absorbed at all hours of the day. They roamed around free in her mind to do as they please, throwing their two cents in on every last little thing. When she had woken up that morning her mother had informed her that at around three a.m. she had gotten up, convinced she was a fifteen year old boy named Kurt and was swearing at them in German.

Luckily that part could be controlled. That was the entire reason Mystique had booked her a flight and bought her an apartment in Boston. Apparently there was this big shot telepath out here that was supposed to help her develop her mutation properly. Well at least for about a year anyway. After that she would be married.

She gave a disgusted grunt at the very thought of it and moved further into the apartment. Her first stop was the kitchen, she was absolutely starving. As luck would have it, the only thing in the fridge was an old box of baking powder, a lot of good that would do her. The cabinets were empty as well but she did manage to find a phone book in one of the drawers. Quickly she located a pizza place and ordered a large pizza with bacon, black olives, mushrooms and a coke.

Tomorrow she would go shopping with the credit cards Mystique had given her. There were perks to being the daughter of a mutant terrorist.

She explored the rest of the apartment and noted with distaste how utterly bland it was. There wouldn't be much point in personalizing the place but a few touches couldn't hurt.

By the time she ventured back into the living room her doorbell rang. She opened up the door and paid for the pizza from the pimply faced guy who had to be in his thirties and was clearly leering at her breasts. It's not like she was showcasing them in any sort of capacity with her baggy t-shirt. She raised her eyebrow, paid him and shut the door in his face.

She took the pizza box and two-liter to the little blue couch and shed her gloves. She already hated the damn things. She gave a look around at the tiny apartment. She would have to make the most out of this chapter in her life, it was her last chance at freedom and she didn't want to waste it. She deserved a little fun, Lord knew she wouldn't be having any after her time here.

**A/N**

**Updates will be sporadic as I am moving across the country at the end of this month. Please leave a review!**


	2. Chapter 2

Rogue sat awkwardly in a booth of the Hellfire Club which was actually a club within another club. The Hellfire Club was only for mutants, but not just any mutants, the wealthy and powerful only need apply for a membership. The public eye was only privy to the exclusive gentleman's club that hid the Hellfire Club's true purpose. And to make matters more confusing there where two sides to the Hellfire Club, the white and the black. Rogue was currently meeting with the Queen of the White side because there was also a hierarchy of all things.

A clique within a club within another club. It was like the plot some bad movie that played at the dollar theater for a year.

Rogue had been raised to handle most any situation with calm indifference. However she had not been taught on exactly how to deal with a room full of women in sexy lingerie. She self-consciously tugged at her gloves which was useless really. Unless one of these women was going to come up and plant a kiss on her then she really didn't have to worry about absorbing one of them.

Rogue frowned when a man in a smart business suit leered at her. He had to be thirty years older than her what the hell did he think he was looking at. She returned his leer with a scowl that only made his eyes light up in interest. Pervert.

"He is isn't he?" a woman and white sat down at the opposite side of the booth. "He's always been found of underage girls. Usually I don't understand the attraction to prepubescent girls but you appear rather developed. Did you buy them?"

The woman in white was clearly asking about her breast. "Of course I didn't!" she said, adjusting herself to hide her figure more.

The woman continued to stare at her breast a moment longer. "Mine cost a small fortune to look this real." She fingered the small bra that was just barely containing her enormous breasts. Rogue didn't know who she thought she was kidding; the only women with tits that big weighed over three hundred pounds and they weren't nearly as perky.

The woman raised an eyebrow clearly still listening in on her thoughts. Rogue knew the proper response was to blush and feel ashamed but she just couldn't force herself to do it. If the woman would insist on reading her mind then she would continue to think inappropriate thoughts about her.

"So I guess you're the one I'm supposed to meet." She said eyeing the woman.

"Emma Frost, charmed I'm sure." She said as she cast her eyes around the room.

Rogue wasn't quiet as charmed as this woman seemed to think. "Rogue." She said flatly.

Emma arched one perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "I suppose that counts." She said causing Rogue to narrow her eyes. "While you're here I'll be teaching you to lock away the psyches of those you've absorbed as well as explore other possibilities with your mutation. I will also attempt to trigger the next stage of your mutation though there is no guarantee for that."

Rogue nodded. "So when do we start?" the faster she locked the people in her head away the better. She was tired of listening to Cody wonder around her mind confused as to what was going on. She didn't want to listen to another corny joke told by Kurt or words of gentle encouragement from Ororo. She wanted peace and quiet in her mind so she could have a thought of her own without commentary.

Another woman who looked like she had jump straight off the silver screen out of the matrix walked up to stand next to Emma. "This Thursday at four-twenty, arrive here fifteen minutes early."

Rogue quirked an eyebrow skyward but didn't comment on the strangeness of the woman. "Alright. I'll see you then." Rogue stood to leave and hadn't walked more than two steps before Emma spoke again.

"Oh Darling, see if you can't do something about that dreadful accent of yours. The way you butcher your speech is horrendous." Her smile was pleasant but her eyes were mean.

'_We can't all be as posh as you, Your Majesty.' _Rogue aimed the thought directly to her.

"You may just call me Emma." Rogue leveled a look at the blonde woman in white with the big fake boobs before turning on her heel and exiting the club.

When Rogue arrived that Thursday she was led to one of the VIP rooms in the back. The VIP room had mirrors on the ceiling a bed in the center and far too much red velvet for her tastes. Clearly this is where the members came to screw each other.

"That's such a vulgar way of putting it," Emma said walking into the room behind her. "But yes. We will be using this room so that I may teach you how to regain control of your mind. As marvelous as your breasts are, you aren't my type."

She pulled a chair in the corner up to the side of the bed. "Well, go on." She said impatiently. "Lay down. And do please remove your shoes." She gave Rogue's boots an ugly look.

Personally she didn't understand the look, it wasn't like they were her big black clunky boots she had worn when she was thirteen and gone through a phase that consisted mostly of black. These were really cute brown boots that went up mid-calf and that she had tucked her jeans into. Perhaps it was because they weren't white.

Sitting on the edge of the bed she kicked them off unceremoniously into the floor before crawling up on the bed to lie down on the side of the bed next to Emma. It made her want to scowl when she thought about what people got up into in here. Then here she was just chilling on the bed while Ms. Prim and Bitchy went through her mind.

To say having someone rummaging around in her mind was unsettling was an understatement. It was weird enough with the other three in there but Emma's presence felt completely different, like she was denser than the others.

'_I do not rummage.'_

Rogue rolled her eyes and began listening as Emma gave her step by step instructions on how to lock the psyches away. It was a grueling process though she was assured that it would get easier each times she did it.

After the two and a half hours it took to finally lock the three away, Emma announced that next week that she would have her absorb more people so she could practice. Rogue was not excited about this. Cody and the two X-Men had been pretty agreeable about being locked up she doubted the next handful of people would be as equally courteous.

Emma left the room telling her to make an appointment with Sage, the woman from the Matrix, on her way out. She did as instructed and was booked for the same time next week. If her appointments were going to be this regular then that meant she could form a life while she was here, even if it was only for a year.

The first item on her list was to the gym Sage had told her about. It was in a warehouse by the waterfront and the only ones who could use it were mutants. In addition to keeping up her training routine she would actually be able to meet more mutants like herself. It would be easier to date a mutant then a base line human anyway. At least a mutant would understand her plight and she wouldn't have to make up ridiculous excuses for her constant cover.

Rogue felt heat rise to her cheeks when she thought of dating. She was no beauty queen, she knew that, but she wasn't bad looking either. A couple of adventurous men would be interested in her but not for long term, she wasn't exactly girlfriend material. Which was fine with her as the main reason she wanted to date, something she couldn't do under Irene's roof, was to piss her mother off for betrothing her to the son of Jean-Luc LeBeau.

She had been betrothed to Remy LeBeau since she was eight and he was twelve. Her mother had made a deal of sorts with Jean-Luc. Her one of a kind mutant daughter for the resources of the infamous Thieves Guild. Rogue had to admit it was a pretty good deal for both sides. Her mother and the Brotherhood would have all sorts of access to government intelligence while the thieves would gain her. A mutant capable of stealing information with a single touch.

The only thing was she didn't want to be a thief; she wanted to fight for mutant rights alongside her mother. There were of course finer points of the arrangement that allowed her to be part of the Brotherhood when she was needed but she could never become a real member as she would be required to live in New Orleans with her husband.

As romantic as the idea of an arranged marriage to a rich stranger seemed, it just wasn't Rogue's fantasy. She was raised to be a strong confident woman and marriage just didn't coincide with that. Besides it's not like she could have a physical relationship with him anyway with her mutation. Though that didn't stop Jean-Luc from hoping she would birth a whole horde of mutant babies with mutations just like hers, the wonders of modern science of course made this possible. She actually felt a little sorry for Remy, all the responsibilities of a family with none of the fun of making one. If anyone was getting the short end of the stick here it was him.

XxX

Rogue sat by the window of the local coffee shop she had come to haunt. It was thankfully never too overcrowded and more often than not she was able to get her favorite seat by the window. It also had great coffee and pastries which Rogue figured she could indulge because she was always at Gym-X, the all mutant gym. Currently she was enjoying a cheese Danish with a cup of coffee. It was absolutely delicious and was distracting her from her newspaper.

"Hi." a voice said startling Rogue. "You're Rogue right."

She was so engrossed in the wonderfulness of the Danish that she didn't notice a boy about her age approach her table. He had dark hair and dark eyes, he was quiet handsome. She had seen him around not only at the gym but at club as well though she had never caught his name.

"Yeah, and you are?" she asked and raised her eyebrow only slightly when he invited himself to sit down with her.

"Julian, or Hellion." He flashed a charming smile.

"Just Rogue." She gave him her own smile.

"Well, Just Rogue, what's your power? I'm a telekinetic." He said. His eyes glowed green slightly and she felt a strand of hair that had fallen in her face move and tucked behind her ear.

It appeared Julian was a charmer.

"I absorb the memories, abilities and the powers of mutants." She slipped off her glove and brushed her fingers across his cheek. She didn't get many memories from the short contact but what she did get was that he thought she was very pretty and had come over here with the intention of asking her out on a date.

With confidence she glanced over to a man in a business suit who was yelling at the poor girl behind the counter. She jerked her head over to the man and using Julian's power she lifted a scone into the air and hurled it at the back of his head hard enough for him to spill his coffee all over himself.

Hellion gave a snort of laughter. Another thing she had picked up from him was his sense of mischievousness. "Would you like to go out this Friday with me?" he asked.

Rogue slide him a playful glance. "Depends on where you'd take me."

He have her that charming impish smile of his again. "I was thinking dinner and then a buddy of mine can get us into see this new band at a club on the other side of the city."

"Sounds interesting, when will you pick me up?" she was already wondering what she would wear.

"How's seven?"

Rogue smiled and pulled out a pen and a scrap of paper from her purse, she wrote down her address and her phone number before standing up. "I'll see you tonight." She said before leaving him at the table. She had only been in Boston for three weeks and already she had a date. Maybe those seduction lessons Mystique had forced her into would really pay off.


End file.
